Kinetix Reports Vigorous Early Demand for 3D Studio MAX; Unveils Enhanced Release 1.1 with Powerful New Features; Brisk Initial Sales, Feature-Filled Update Release and Shipment of Software Developers Kit Mark Product's First 120 Days.

NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 6, 1996--At SIGGRAPH '96, Kinetix(TM), the multimedia business unit of Autodesk(R) Inc., announced today that it has experienced vigorous early demand for 3D Studio MAX(TM), the powerful new version of 3D Studio(R) specially rearchitected for Microsoft(R) Windows NT(R) Workstation.

Kinetix is capitalizing on the new application's initial momentum by unveiling 3D Studio MAX 1.1, a free, feature-filled update to the award-winning application. The company also announced it is shipping its robust new 3D Studio MAX Software Developers Kit, which features nearly half of the application's source code and dramatically eases development of plug-in applications.

Since Kinetix began shipping 3D Studio MAX on April 18, the company has delivered new copies and upgrades to more than 10,000 customers worldwide in five languages and in all of its key 3D markets, including film and video production, motion picture special effects, 3D animation, architecture and design visualization. Brisk demand for 3D Studio MAX reflects a rapidly emerging customer need for professional, workstation-class 3D software solutions at PC prices.

"Clearly the multimedia business is alive and well, and Kinetix is lengthening its lead," said Carol Bartz, chairman, president and CEO of Autodesk. "With this outstanding initial momentum, it's clear that Kinetix is delivering on its mission to revolutionize 3D on the PC."

New Features in 3D Studio MAX Release 1.1

Less than four months since it began shipping its original release of 3D Studio MAX, Kinetix today announced an updated release which will be shipped free to all registered 3D Studio MAX customers. 3D Studio MAX Release 1.1 features a host of new capabilities based on additional development and early customer feedback. The result is the most fully featured 3D modeling and animation package available for PCs.

"While 3D Studio MAX has been a hit straight out of the gate, Kinetix is committed to continually assessing and answering the needs of its customers," said Larry Crume, Autodesk vice president and general manager of Kinetix. "Today, we reflect that commitment in announcing a free 3D Studio MAX update release with powerful new features that are bound to please even our most demanding customers."

Features incorporated into 3D Studio MAX Release 1.1 include: -0- -- A powerful new environment called Combustion for creating 3D flames, explosions, smoke and mist;

-- New 3D objects, including three varieties of true geodesic spheres and a new Editable Mesh class for fast, efficient mesh editing;

-- New modifiers, including Mesh Smooth, for rounding mesh edges and organic modeling; Relax, for softening meshes; Stretch, for axial deformation of characters; and Bevel, for extruding animated beveled surfaces, such as text;

-- A new space warp, Path Deform, to animate an object to fit along a spline path (such as a snake slithering down a spiral slide);

-- Four new animation controllers for using Audio .WAV files to drive animation parameters;

-- Two new 3D procedural materials, Wood and Dents;

-- Improved rendering capabilities, allowing users to simultaneously render any number of projects across thousands of PCs and servers;

-- Support for Adobe Photoshop(TM) plug-ins for use as materials or post-production compositing filters;

-- The ability to interpret several new file formats, including Adobe Illustrator(TM) .AI, and .PNG bitmaps; and

-- The ability to read and write to and from AutoCAD(R) in .DWG format. -0-

Separately, Kinetix also announced today that the same version of 3D Studio MAX Release 1.1 operates without modification on both Windows NT and Windows 95(NT) platforms. Because customers can choose to run the application on either Windows NT systems or on less expensive Windows 95 PCs and laptops, Kinetix is widening its access to such cost-sensitive markets as education.

Shipping throughout the world since April, 3D Studio MAX delivers several capabilities found only on expensive applications available for costly UNIX(R) platforms. 3D Studio MAX is U.S. list priced at $3,495. 3D Studio customers can migrate to 3D Studio MAX for $2,500.

3D Studio MAX SDK Rich with Source Code

Kinetix also announced that it is shipping to all registered users its 3D Studio MAX Software Developers Kit (SDK) to expand the industry's most extensible 3D graphics development platform. Since Kinetix began shipping the SDK to developers in November of 1995, third-party acceptance of the SDK has been phenomenal, with several new plug-ins slated to be announced at SIGGRAPH '96. Kinetix also reported that registration for its 3D Studio MAX Software Developers Conference has more than sold out, with over 200 developers scheduled to attend the SIGGRAPH event.

Documenting the Applications API for creating plug-in components, the SDK was developed in tandem with 3D Studio MAX itself. As a result, the API is tightly coupled with the application and all core components are implemented through the API.

Nearly half of the original application's source code is used in the SDK, making it easier for third-party developers and users interested in creating their own plug-ins to customize most functions and learn directly from the application code itself. The kit features a powerful online help system that lets programmers perform topic searches. They can also cut and paste examples from the online documentation directly into their programming environment. Thoroughly object-oriented, the 3D Studio MAX SDK utilizes Microsoft Visual C++ 4.1.

Working with the SDK for months, 3D Studio MAX developers have already begun shipping new plug-in applications that take full advantage of the application's powerful platform architecture. The revolutionary Character Studio(TM) solution for modeling and animating 3D characters, created using the SDK, began shipping last month.

Kinetix customers also are depending on the SDK to customize their animation solution. Recently, DreamWorks Interactive, a joint venture of DreamWorks SKG and Microsoft Corporation, announced that it utilized the 3D Studio MAX SDK to customize the game development environments of two new video game titles, Jurassic Park: The Lost World and Goosebumps: Escape from Horrorland.

"3D Studio MAX defines extensibility," said Jim Dudman, product development manager at Metatools, Inc. "The Software Development Kit for third parties gives us wide and deep access to all parts of the application. The 3D Studio MAX SDK is an incredibly robust plug-in development environment, with an architecture which is enabling MetaTools to port our creative graphics tools and intuitive interfaces to the 3D Studio MAX Platform with great ease ."

"The ability for us to customize our development environment -- and thereby customize the end product -- is critical," said Mark Malmberg, president of San Francisco animation studio XAOS Inc. "The 3D Studio MAX SDK gives us the tools to do just that, and provides us with enough source code to delve straight into the application to create the best plug-ins possible."

For development, Kinetix recommends using a PC system with a Pentium(R) class processor running Microsoft Windows NT 3.51 and Microsoft Visual C++ 4.1.

About Kinetix

Kinetix develops and delivers affordable content creation tools for professionals such as film and video producers, video/computer game developers, Web content developers, architects, engineers, and designers. The leader in PC-based 3D modeling and animation tools, Kinetix provides a full range of products for the application development process, from 2D and 3D creation to assembly and delivery.

With headquarters in San Rafael, Calif., Kinetix is a division of Autodesk, the fourth largest PC software company in the world with three million customers in 130 countries.

Kinetix products are sold through dealers and distributors worldwide. Visit Kinetix on the World Wide Web at http://www.ktx.com, or contact the company at 800/879-4233.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These include the timely development and acceptance of new products, the impact of competitive products and pricing, and the other risks detailed from time to time in Autodesk's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-Q filed in June 1996.

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